Tag: games (Page 2 of 2)

      A Blue Collar Genius, His Twitter Using Daughter, and An Impossible Labyrinth Puzzle

      January 22, 2013 /

      Don’t attempt to adjust your computers folks, this is still a video game site.

      But just for today, I don’t want to talk about video games. Instead, I want to share with you an interesting story about…well…just a game.

      If it makes you feel any more comfortable, it comes from Japan, like many video games do, but it’s an extremely detailed hand crafted maze that fits on a 35 X 23 inch piece of paper. It’s already being considered perhaps the most complicated maze of its type ever designed, and is not only impossibly detailed, and impossibly beautiful, it may actually be impossible to beat.

      That little tidbit comes to us via the Twitter user Kya7y who introduced this maze to the world, along with the fact that, so far as she knows, there is a good chance that the maze cannot be beaten. That’s not just because it is so mind boggling complex, but because a winning scenario may not even exist within its confines. She would  know too, as her father is the inventor of the maze, and he spent 7 long years working on the design, without even being sure if it is possible to finish.

      While not much is known about the inventor, we do know that he is not a mathematician, architect, or graphic designer, but rather, in a moment of “Good Will Hunting” imagery, is a janitor at a public university. Who, it’s worth pointing out again, spent 7 whole years designing this maze almost 30 years ago, without the aid of quite a few modern technological conveniences.

      Which brings us to an interesting point. There are 50 copies of this maze available at the moment, and a rumored second, alternate maze in existence, and already there is a bit of a craze as people formulate ideas on how to try to solve it. While many theories involve computer scanning the maze and using algorithms and programs to see if it is possible, I say to hell with that. If anyone wants to solve this, they need to do so with the same tools available to the creator. If that means we never know if it is possible, then that only means that this incredible design will forever maintain the mystique it so greatly deserves.

      Kind of makes “Contra” seem like a walk in the park huh?

      Though to be Fair I Still Haven’t Beaten That One Without Cheating

      News

      The Best of Steam Green Light’s First Approvals

      September 13, 2012 /

      Steam Green Light finally approved its first 10 games to be featured on the site, and (for the most part) they’re proving why this program is such a great idea in the first place. From zombie games, to samurai simulators, to “Half-Life” mods, back to zombie games, just in the initial offering of titles we are seeing some really remarkable ideas that will soon become available for all. Ranking those initial 10 titles is no easy task, but if you want the best of the best of Green Light so far, here it is.

      10. McPixel – Probably the type of game that looks fun to vote for, but won’t get that many buys, “McPixel” is an odd title to say the least. It’s made up of a series of 20 second levels where you have to achieve a goal (usually getting rid of a bomb) without many instructions on how to do so. It’s reminiscent of “Wario Ware,” and carries a very unique since of humor, but looks like it may wear its welcome faster than that classic ever did. Nothing to see here, move along.

      9. No More Room In Hell – “No More Room In Hell” is a “Half-Life 2” mod that more than favors “Left 4 Dead,” but this zombie squad based FPS gets some serious points for knowing its genre. I like the variety of zombie enemies, weapons, and appropriate environments, but what I love is the scarce ammunition, lack of crosshairs display, multiple game modes (including an awesome survival mode where you hold down a zombie fort) and overall fun factor. If you’re not tired of “Left 4 Dead,” but crave something new, keep your eye on this one.

      8. Cry of Fear – A “Half-Life” mod, this is one of two horror games to make the final cut. “Cry of Fear” uses the old “you have amnesia” story to throw you into a world of fear and constant terror. The goal of “Cry of Fear” is to simply throw as many unexpected atrocities at you as possible and test your limits of composure. “Cry of Fear” reminds me of a really good carnival haunted house, and its use of sound, light, and atmosphere are top notch. Also, you have to see the above video of people playing it and losing their minds to the game’s scares.

      7. Heroes and Generals – Maybe the most technically proficient of the initial Green Light games, “Heroes and Generals” looks to breathe a little life in to online FPS shooters. “Heroes and Generals” allows players to either take to the frontlines in a variety of combat situations FPS style, or take the role of a commander and manage the battle in more of an RTS format. This type of game has been tried before, but has never really produced a big hit. However, the media released so far is intriguing, and the team behind the game is some of the same people who worked on the “Hitman” series and “Freedom Fighters.” It’s got a lot of pedigree going for it, and could be a quick hit.

      6. Project Zomboid – ANOTHER ZOMBIE GAME? Yes, but don’t hold that against it. This may be the most conceptually intriguing zombie game I’ve ever seen, as the emphasis is on survival and not shooting. Using a sandbox mode and isometric perspective, “Project Zomboid” allows players to scavenge supplies, build safehavens, maintain their hunger and boredom levels, and of course, fight the occasional zombie. It’s so in depth, you have to consider things like hanging sheets over your windows so zombies don’t spot your lights, and already features an active mod community who contribute to the game regularly. I’m a BIG fan of this one, and you should definitely consider it if you’re a fan of the first two “Fallout” games.

      Continue reading »

      News

      A week without games

      November 28, 2011 /

      It’s been a week since I last plopped myself down in my office and fired up a game of LoL or knocked out a few quests in Skyrim. I always think these holiday weekends will have some profound effect on the way I think about games or the way I play them or even the way I write about them, but it just doesn’t happen. I’m not entirely sure why, just as I am unsure why that would be a good thing.

      I think part of the problem is that I would like to be playing a wider variety of games. In the past two years I’ve spent the vast majority of my time with just a small subset of games. I’ve pumped more time than I care to tally into League of Legends. I’ve played a lot of Minecraft. I’ve dipped in and out of WoW. I’ve been playing the hell out of Skyrim. I even had a brief affair with Diablo II. It’s a short list, and two of my five games aren’t really all that new. Why such a limited list?

      For starters, time. It’s not the amount of time spent actually playing a game that concerns me. It’s the amount of time it takes to learn a game. To get to know its mechanics. To see whether I like it or not. A few weeks ago I was given access to the Star Wars: The Old Republic beta for weekend testing. I spent probably 10 hours with the game over the first two days, but those 10 hours were painful. The storyline wasn’t gripping, the combat was a complete WoW-copy – I was completely underwhelmed. I took my concerns to a couple forums, trying to figure out what I was missing. Plenty of reviews claimed the game was good, even great. What had I overlooked?

      According to the internet, I hadn’t even cracked the surface of the game. Granted, 10 hours is a tiny chunk of time compared to the years people have spent with games like WoW, but 10 hours before the game even becomes remotely enjoyable? I’ll pass, as I do on most games. I would say that I’ve “missed out” on some big titles, but have I? What have I really missed? I can count on one hand the number of titles that have truly changed the way I think about games in the last 10 years. Even League of Legends, a game I play and write about on a daily basis, isn’t on that list.

      I’m not trying to make the case that every game should break the mold, forever changing the way that we game. No industry supports that kind of innovation. I do, however, wish it happened more often than it does. The next big games on my watch list are Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3, and I only have high hopes for GW2. Diablo 3 is a load of fun, but it’s fun at its most mindless.

      I’m going to end this post here, because I’m not sure I have much else to say. I love games, I just wish there were more games worth loving. You know, variety being the spice of life and all. What about you? What are you playing? What games made you rethink the medium? What’s on your gaming horizon?

      Editorial

      LoL: Frustrating games today

      April 10, 2010 /

      I'm sad like this kid.I was pretty excited to get some games in today. It’s the first day I haven’t had much work since the patch so I was looking to get some good wins in and push Kennen toward my Top 3 list. I only need to hit 33 wins for him to take Pantheon’s spot, so I thought I could knock out 5-6 pretty easily.

      The first game I had another player pick my favorite midget. No problem. We also had a Taric, Jax, and I think an Ezreal. I figured Ezreal could solo mid and I’d let our Kennen 1v2 so I picked Warwick. Big mistake. My team couldn’t manage their lanes at all. Jax and Taric were dying repeatedly to a solo Ryze (the other team had a WW as well), Kennen was getting dominated by a mirror match middle, and Ezreal was getting pushed hard up top. I tried to roam and help out as much as possible, but it just ended in death after death for most of our team. Our Taric was 0-9 by the end of the game with only 2 assists. He was stacking Hearts of Gold.

      The next two games went really well. I was quick enough to grab Kennen and I played well with him at middle. I was quickly up a few kills and by the end of both games I was on some sort of spree (legendary in one) and had zero deaths. All around good stuff. Unfortunately the servers went down and neither of those games were recorded on my profile.

      Once the servers were back up I grabbed a quick game with two friends. I knew we were sunk as soon as I saw the loading screen. We were running Kennen/Ashe/Malph and our pugs were Zilean and Mordekaiser. The other team went Taric, Jax, Nidalee, TF, Rammus. Let me tell you, Nidalee is infuriating to lane against middle. I was outplaying her by all standards. I was harassing better than she was, I had a better farm, I nearly killed her 3 times, but between Flash, Pounce, and Primal Surge there was nothing I could do. She would pounce into terrible situations, I would lay down a combo, get her to 20 percent or lower and she would pounce away and heal. For her really bad choices she would have to Flash out as well. The game ended swiftly – our Zilean wasn’t great and really, we didn’t stand much chance against four of the most OP toons in the game.

      Of course after that game the servers went down for the second time and haven’t come back up. Hopefully I’ll get some good games in tonight. Send me a friend request or an invite if you’d like to join.

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